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ElectroTech
Interesting on the per entry insurance, are these insurance policies negotiated across the series, can local Rallies apply to use the larger events policy?

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Not Trolling

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ElectroTech
And those 20 events probably cost the same in terms of entry fees as 5 over here due to breadth of field.

I don't have a ton of time to research entry costs, but I seriously doubt you'll find regional rallies with over 100km of stage distance at under $200cad in europe. I'm happy to be corrected on that, but I just don't see it.

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ElectroTech
Costs roughly the same to do an event for 20 as an event for 150.

Actually, no... they aren't. There are a myriad of costs that are 'per entry,' depending on how you run the event. In Canada, we are charged event insurance on a per car basis, and then we also provide car numbers and printed material for each entry.
Also, it is almost certain that you might end up renting space for a 150 car service park where you might 'squat' on the corner of a lot for a 20 car field. (the size of service rigs might cost us one of our regional events because we have no-where to fit the service park anymore)

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ElectroTech
What actually forms our entry fee costs? Road closure fees? Ambulance hire costs? I believe Rally is a hell of a lot more a cultural thing in Europe, being that the local government probably doesn't stiff the organizers at every possible juncture.

In western Canada, at least, we don't pay any road use fees. Some events have had to post a bond against damage, but no actual use or permit fees in any of the events I've been involved in. The governments certainly aren't 'stiffing' us in any way.

A quick look at the budget for Rocky this year, which had 22 cars and may not actually break even but was run with a tight line on finances, shows the following distribution... roughly:

30% Volunteer Feeding and housing
21% Awards banquet and trophies (A bit higher because National event)
21% Sanctioning and insurance
15% Admin costs (printing, route checking, banner tape, service park security, etc.)
15% Safety costs (Ambulance, etc.)
(Yah, more than 100%)

Each event will look a bit different in this split. Some events don't have the volunteer costs because they are 'local' events, some events might run a planned surplus to build a reserve to support a high-cost event - equalizing out the entry fees over the events. (socialist in nature.)

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ElectroTech
And those 20 events probably cost the same in terms of entry fees as 5 over here due to breadth of field.

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Not Trolling

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ElectroTech
Obviously that's not going to happen, so perhaps the best alternative would be to do regional semi finals with just a couple nationwide events to choose the national champ.

Or, leave the championships to the people who really want to spend the money to win them and focus on going out and having fun at events. (As an organizer, I recognize that championships do draw entries - that was one of the factors leading to RMR having much lower entries than PFR this year I am sure.)
The tows, even for the regional events, is a significant cost difference between rally in North America and in yerp. A Calgary team doing all 5 events in the WCRC will tow over 4000km for the 5 events. (A Fork Lake AB based team would tow just over 9,000km for all 5 events, a Squamish based team about 7400km) How many events could the typical You're-a-peein' do with 4000km of towing? 9,000km? (more than 5 I'm guessing)
Of course towing is more than just fuel and wear and tare on the rig, it's all about time off - or away from work and non-rally life. (If you can average 100km/h, which ain't east to do when towing, the Fork Lakers of the world would need to find 74hours each season to devote just to towing...)
So ya... we're fucked by geography.

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ALS FTW
.. I'd be more interested in seeing how many events each group drives in a year than trying to link the type of car being driven to the difference. We all know cars don't go fast without talented drivers behind the wheel. Any numbers on that John?

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ElectroTech
Obviously that's not going to happen, so perhaps the best alternative would be to do regional semi finals with just a couple nationwide events to choose the national champ.

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ALS FTW
Subaru has been a strong supporter of the Canadian Rally Championship - and privateer teams running the championship - for 20 years-ish. This probably has something to do with the numbers being skewed to blue.

At the end of the day, the contingencies from Subaru won't cover the 'extra' money spent on running an O4WD car or event most P4WD cars, but for some... the idea of getting manufacturer support is attractive, and for all it is appreciated.

As to why north american drivers tend to be off the pace of the euros... I'd be more interested in seeing how many events each group drives in a year than trying to link the type of car being driven to the difference. We all know cars don't go fast without talented drivers behind the wheel. Any numbers on that John?